Life is Short - Live Wisely!

James 4:13-17

How easy it is to make assumptions about the future. James is right: Life is like a vapor! I have never talked to a single person over 65 that said their life went by painfully slow. The old mantra, “time flies,” rings true for almost all of us, which is why Moses prays, “ teach us to number our days, so that we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). In our passage this week James addresses arrogant individuals that attempt to play God with their lives. They imagine themselves as the final authority and operate their life leaving God largely out.

It happens when you sequester God by putting Him in a compartment of your life and calling on Him only when you’re in a bind.

He becomes the boss of religious issues, moral matters, and really big things, but He’s not really concerned with all the normal, everyday parts of life. This is clearly a problem of mistaken confidence as James writes, “you do not know what your life will be life tomorrow.”

James tells his readers that they have no right to ignore God in any aspect of their lives. We all need to acknowledge that God is God, and we are not. As we submit ourselves before Him our attitude and orientation toward life take on a dramatic shift. We discover that there is no sacred/secular divide that relegates some parts of our lives to Him and some to us. We learn that God governs all things, even the seemingly insignificant decisions. He owns everything, including our next breath!

A friend of mine always says,

“Ministry is first a mindset and only secondarily an activity.” If you come to church just to sit and take in whatever grabs you, you do not h

ave a ministry mindset. You’re a religious consumer, but you’re not doing what God calls every believer to do.

A ministry mindset means that every day you pray, “Lord, here I am, ready to do Your will. Give me eyes to see people as you do. Use me today as a worker in Your harvest for Your purpose however long you need me. Teach me to number my days so that I can present myself to You with a heart of wisdom.”